Born to a teacher's family in
Gdów in Austrian-ruled Polish
Galicia, he attended Gimnazjum Św. Anny (St.Anna-Gymnasium) in
Kraków and
Jagiellonian University, where he graduated in 1913, receiving the degree of
Doctor of Philosophy for a
dissertation about the history of the Polish monetary system. In 1914 he started work as teacher in Stanisławów (now
Ivano-Frankivsk, Ukraine), but after the 1st World War broke out he was mobilized into the
Austro-Hungarian Army in the rank of
Sub-Lieutenant, served on the Eastern Front and was wounded. In 1918, following
Poland's independence he joined the
Polish Army and served in the intelligence and propaganda branch with the rank of
Lieutenant. In 1919 during the
Polish-
Czechoslovak border dispute he was involved in preparations for a
plebiscite in Spisz (
Spiš) and Orawa (
Orava). In 1920 Grażyński was engaged in preparations for a
plebiscite in
Upper Silesia and the
Silesian Uprising. He served under the
nom de guerre "Borelowski" in the underground staff of Dowództwo Ochrony Plebiscytu (Plebiscite Protection Command), moving quickly to the staff of the
Polish Military Organisation of Upper Silesia (Polska Organizacja Wojskowa, POW). He took part in the
Third Silesian Uprising as Chief of Staff of Grupa "Wschód" (Combat Group "East"). After the uprising he retired from military service with the rank of
Captain. Between 1921 and 1926 Grażyński worked in state administration, studied law at the Jagiellonian University and graduated with the degree of Doctor of Law. During this time he also joined the "Zet" association, an elite political society with historical roots in the National League (
Narodowa Demokracja), but after 1914 linked rather with
Józef Piłsudski and future
Sanacja. In 1926, when Piłsudski came to power (by a coup d'état of a part of the Polish army), Grażyński was appointed voivode of the
Silesian Voivodeship. He served in this post till 1939. Grażyński was one of the prominent leaders of the Związek Naprawy Rzeczypospolitej (Union for Improvement of the Republic), which was the left wing of Sanacja. From 1930 to 1939 Grażyński was also President of
Związek Harcerstwa Polskiego. He was awarded an honorary highest scout rank Honorowy Harcerz Rzeczypospolitej (Honorary Scout of the Republic), but never had been a
Scoutmaster. In 1939 Grażyński fled to exile. Between 1943 and 1946 he served in the Polish Army and was promoted to the ranks of
Major and
Lieutenant-Colonel. From 1946 until 1960 he was President of Związek Harcerstwa Polskiego poza granicami Kraju (Polish Scouting Association in Exile). He died in London in 1965 of a traffic accident and buried at the
Putney Vale Cemetery. ==External links==